


Fever Dreams

by EternalLibrary



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Gen, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2019-11-08 07:57:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17977400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalLibrary/pseuds/EternalLibrary
Summary: For the prompt: something where Jim and Spock care about Bones and he cares about them.





	Fever Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry I'm so bad at titles this was originally title-less.
> 
> I was going through my writing tag AS YOU DO and found this from like 2016. It was for a Secret Santa thing, as a gift for [Hawk](http://colemckenzies.tumblr.com). The original post is [here](http://imaginariumgeographica.tumblr.com/post/154907435030/here-is-my-startreksecretsanta-gift-for).

There is no winter when you’re on a spaceship – there are no seasons at all, for that matter. But like clockwork every twelve months, approximately during November back on Earth, crewmembers would start falling ill, complaining of aches and fever and nausea. Medical would whip up a batch of inoculation against whatever strain of influenza was bringing down the crew this year, and within a day or two the Enterprise would once again be, well, shipshape.

This year was no different. Perhaps it took a little longer than usual to isolate this particular strain of ‘flu, perhaps a few more crew members were laid low before the vaccination was done, but the outcome, Kirk thought, was no different. One healthy crew and no sign of the ‘flu.

Bones coughed loudly. Kirk turned to look at him, and was forced to revise his estimation to ‘nearly no sign of ‘flu.’

“Bones you look like hell,” he said.

“You’re no great looker yourself,” Bones snapped back.

“I believe the captain is referring to the fact that you appear to be,” Spock raised an eyebrow, “ ‘under the weather’.”

“Nothing a stiff drink won’t fix,” Bones addressed a point several centimeters to the right of Spock’s head.

“Humour me,” Kirk said. “How many of me are there?”

Bones’ eyes shifted blearily in Kirk’s general direction, and made a valiant effort to focus.

“The normal number,” he said, though his eyes flicked uncertainly between Kirk and the empty air beside him. “You didn’t go and get another evil clone did you?”

“Doctor,” Spock said, “you appear to be displaying all the symptoms of this year’s influenza strain.”

Bones sucked in a breath to retaliate, and staggered. His hand shot to his forehead.

“Bones man,” Kirk said, “you should probably take a – ”

The doctor passed out.

In his dream Bones is alone. Around him is the cold pristine black of the void. Stars shine bright and cold, untwinkling uncountable kilometres away. There is no sound, no feeling. He wants to scream but he can’t. He has no control of his body. The void plucks at him, trying to tear him apart. The stars seem to be rushing ever farther away. There is only blackness.

In his dream Bones is with his daughter. He and Joanna lie on their backs, looking up at the clouds. A rabbit. A cauliflower. A Vulcan salute. A whale. Cotton candy. That’s cheating daddy, they all look like cotton candy. Okay, mashed potatoes. Daddy! Her laughter is all around him.

In his dream Bones is surrounded by soft darkness and blinking lights. He can feel the ship’s rumbling surrounding him. This isn’t the silent nothing of the void. He feels safe.

In his dream Bones is with his friends. Spock on one side, Jim on the other. Jim’s shoulder is bumping companionably against his, and there’s a faint smile on Spock’s face, the kind that only those who really know him can see. They don’t say anything, just look forward. Bones cannot recall what they’re looking at, afterwards, but he knows it’s incredible. Eventually, Jim wraps and arm around him. What d’you say, Bones. Spock touches his shoulder lightly. Time to wake up doctor. Bones closes his eyes.

Bones opened his eyes. His mouth tasted like it was full of cotton batting.

“I am glad to see you awake,” Spock said softly.

Bones looked around him, and found he was in a biobed in his own medbay. Spock was sitting beside him, PADD sitting on his lap. Bones glanced to his other side, and saw Jim sprawled on another bed, snoring gently.

“Spock,” Bones said. His throat was scratchy with disuse. He coughed and tried again. “Spock. Don’t tell me you were worried.”

“Quite the contrary doctor,” Spock replied. “I am merely thinking of the backlog of work from these two days you have been unconscious.” His eyes twinkled mischievously.

Jim mumbled something, and cracked an eye open. “I knew I heard those dulcet southern tones,” he said.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Bones said grumpily. “Was I really out for two days?”

“I keep a bedside vigil for my deathly ill friend and this is all the thanks I get,” Jim grumbled.

“It appears you neglected to inoculate yourself against the influenza,” Spock said. “That combined with the extra hours you were working meant the illness affected you particularly badly.”

“Well thank god it’s over now,” Bones said, readying to get up. His head spun.

“Nope!” Jim leapt to his feet and pushed Bones back into the bed. “Doctor Chapel has things well in and you still need to recover. Your fever broke but you’re still fighting off the last of the ‘flu.”

“Just pump me full of immunoboosters,” Bones muttered.

“No can do,” Jim said. “Doctor’s orders.”

“ _I’m_  the chief medical officer,” Bones snapped.

“You want me to get Doctor Chapel in here?” Jim asked.

“…No,” Bones deflated.

A panel on the wall chirped, “Captain Kirk and Commander Spock to the bridge,” came Uhura’s voice.

Kirk straightened out his shirt and Spock stood.

“I advise you to get some more rest Doctor,” Spock said.

“We’ll come see you again later,” Jim added.

Bones could already feel his eyes shutting. He felt exhausted, despite being unconscious for the previous two days.

“Sleep well,” Jim said fondly.

Bones heard the door whoosh open and shut, and then he heard no more.


End file.
